Hybrid .4 06
Author's Note #1: The events that occur in this story are based off Human .4. The story was written by Mike A. Lancaster, and this author is not affiliated with Human .4 in any way. Author's note #2: This is a continuation of Hybrid .4 05. It will only make sense if you read the link above. Author's Note #3: This author owns none of the art and images shown. ---- With all this crap happening before my eyes, I hadn't realized how much I needed a moment to slow down and not worry about weird robots with hand strings, or waking up a century too late. I wouldn't have realized either, if Lilly and I hadn't bothered to take the time to sit on the sidewalk of the gas station and just observe the night. It was warm enough for me to take my letterman jacket off, but I was a bit nervous since I'd left by shoes inside. The night was illuminated by the moon, as well as the dim lights from the roof. (How they still worked, remains a mystery.) We sat in silence, waiting to see which one of us would speak first. I didn't want to talk to her, because all I had to say was more endless questions. How has it been a hundred years, and you're still not dead? Why aren't you among the rest of your kind? Where did my friends go? ''But I didn't want to annoy her. She'd been irritated by me enough. Lilly turned to look at me. "You know, I think you aren't looking at this the right way, Trevor." "What do you mean by that?" I asked her. "I think you see this situation you've been put into as a 'punishment." Her cross expression seemed to soften. "I totally understand ''why,'' I mean, it's not like you ''asked'' to wake up in an unfamiliar world, with no explanation of how you got there or why you're here. Believe me, I've been there myself." I doubted that. "Yeah, no ''kidding''." "No, I'm being serious! Kyle and I were ''so'' scared when this all began! But if we'd let our fear and doubt get the best of us, we wouldn't be here now. You just have to do the same." The blonde British girl smiled in deny, while those brown eyes of hers seemed to twinkle. "Ohhhhhkay..." Something about her smile reminded me of Maddie. "What do you want me to do exactly? Chop my arm off and make some kind of ''sacrifice'' to the Programmers?" Lilly seemed confused by that. "What? No. I'm saying you take this as a chance to start anew. Meet new people, go exploring, not have to worry about being bossed around by your parents! This is ''your'' life now, you can do whatever you want!" "Except' use gadgets." I corrected, remembering what Kyle had said earlier. "I know. Not a lot of people thought they would survive without them at first, but I actually think we're better off without them. Call me crazy." She shrugged. Looking up at the moon, my thoughts drifted to Ethan, Maddie, and my family. I didn't know where any of them were at the time, what had happened to them, or even if they were still 'alive. What if Ethan moved to some foreign country? What if Maddie got married to another guy? What if Rick had ''kids'', and ''grandkids'', and ''great'' grandkids by now? How was ''I'' supposed to know? It had been a hundred ''years'' since any of them last saw me! There was a good chance I missed ''all'' of their funerals! Suddenly, my blood ran cold. What if they'd all forgotten I existed? I thought of the Programmers, who had messed with the memories of all the people in ''Kyle's'' life, and ''Lilly's'', and ''Eric's'', and ''Heidi's''. Everyone who ever known them, from their family and friends, to the people they hated or never even really got to know, all of them remembered ''nothing'' about Kyle Straker, Lilly Dartington, Eric Ortega, or Heidi Perkins. Their faces were blotted out of photo albums, yearbooks, newspapers and magazines. Any proof they'd existed once was gone now, and would ''never'' be recovered. And if they could be cut out of their own life, ''I'' could be too. That would mean the only child of Grace and Hunter Tiorano would have been Rick. Maddie and I never dated, and Ethan and I were never friends. Anything I could've done in the future, from inventing the next IPad to saving the planet, won't and ''didn't'' happen. Just the thought of me being nothing but a forgotten ''echo'' stopped my heart. "....Trevor? You still with me?" Lilly shook my shoulders, snapping me out of the nightmare I'd thrown myself in. I quickly began blinking back tears. "Oh. Uh, yeah, yeah I'm fine." "You turned ''really'' pale for a minute there, buddy." Lilly wasn't convinced everything was okay. "I was just thinking, about being irrelevant." My hands rubbed my wet eyes. "That means...everyone we ever knew and loved, they've forgotten we ever existed. And I'm..." I choked on my words. "I'm so, so sorry, Lilly." She sighed. "Let the tears run freely. Don't hold them back." So that's exactly what I did. I cried, into Lilly's knees, for what felt like ''forever''. I cried over Ethan, I cried over Maddie, I cried over my dad, my mom, my brother, and ''all'' my cousins, aunts, and uncles. All the people from my old life, that if they heard my name, or saw my face, would say: ''Who is that?'' (And this might seem sissy-like, for a ''dude'', but I'd be lying if I said I hadn't, okay?) My tears got ''all over'' Lilly's pants, much to her dismay. "Wow. I definitely did ''not'' think you had that in you." She stated once I was done. "Me neither." I sniffed. "I must've been holding it in all this time." Lilly glanced behind her inside the gas station. "We've been out here for a while now. You wanna go in and get some rest?" "Nah. I'd probably just talk in my sleep again." I mumbled, calming down. "Oh, okay." She nodded, getting to her feet. "I'm gonna go back to bed though. Try not to wake the others up." I had no idea what time it was, but I could see the sun rise in the distance. "Sure thing." There was silence for another minute, before Lilly turned to look at me one more time. "Oh, and Trevor?" "Yeah?" "You don't have to stay with us, if you don't ''want''." She said slowly. "I'm sure you want to try to find your family, or at least, what's ''left'' of them." "Thanks, Lilly." My voice lowered to a whisper, and we went back inside. ---- ''Now, I'm sure you're all '''dying to know: did I stay with Lilly and the others, or did I go off on my own in search of my family's remnants?'' Well, at the time, both of them seemed like a good option. If I went after the people from my '''old' life, I'd have all those endless worries put to a halt. I'd figure out what happened to my best friend, my future wife, my younger brother, and everyone and everything in between. I'd see how much had changed in the Tiorano house since 2014, and most importantly, I'd get that one thing I'd been desiring since waking up in that display case: answers. I would finally get some answers. (Or at least, answers that didn't revolve around aliens.)'' But there something wrong with going on this search, which I was well aware of. First of all, I had '''no' clue where I was geographically, but it definitely didn't look like my hometown. If I were to ask Kyle if he knew, I am one-hundred percent sure he'd pull a blank, because he is incapable of using actual paper maps. Even if I was anywhere close, the journey there would take long enough.'' Another problem: my '''sanity' was being torn apart like fabric. I'd already put myself through enough crazy/depressing crap in one day, God knows how I'd behave if I wasn't being payed attention to by other people over the course of multiple weeks. Also, a part of me didn't necessarily want to think of what everyone's lives would've been like without me having there, especially after the trauma with Lilly.'' So, I stayed with Kyle, Lilly, Eric, and Heidi. We took off the following day, and '''this' time, I was an official member of their group. Their team of four had been upgraded to a team of five. And believe it or not, we called ourselves The Unicorns. (Heidi came up with the name.)'' Two months''' passed by like a blur. I went around, exploring places I'd never been, meeting new people, and doing things I'd never once '''thought I'd do until they were done. Most of it was walking, but at times, we'd hitchike onto cars and trains, or ride vehicles that '''didn't run on engines. And at night, we'd find a place to settle, and we'd take turns telling ghost stories. At first, it was like a really long road trip, but as time went by, it felt more like an adventure.'' I learned a lot in two months, in terms of living your life on the road. First off, it's almost '''identical' to all those post-apocalyptic video games, minus the shooting zombies part. You travel from base to base, making allies, and equipping yourself with weapons in case something attacks you. Most of the other 0.4 you meet aren't exactly social, but that's only because they've lost everything, and still have yet to heal. They're friendly people; you just got to get on their good sides.'' And as it turns out, you really '''do' rely on your companions to have your back, especially when you find yourself in sticky situations. One time I was trying to get my group this giant watermelon from a really high shelf, and I would've fallen and snapped my neck if it weren't for Kyle and Heidi's assistance. But you also gotta make sure you have their backs too, for all those times they get emotional and need support.'' You'd think that during those two months, I'd encounter something '''else' weird, right? You'd think that robot Vindex would reappear, or someone like Kira, or, I don't know, a giant pizza would fall down from the sky! I mean, how could I be sure, literally anything could happen! Well, except maybe that last one.'' Nope. No Vindex. No Kira. No Programmers or coding or stuff I thought was easy to understand but actually is so needlessly complicated it numbs my brain. Just me, and my new best friends, for what felt like forever. Although, maybe if I'd been courageous enough, I would've convinced the others to explore the foreign world they knew better than to avoid. It's not that I was '''scared' of what would happen, it's that I wasn't up for getting caught up in that endless whirlpool of being thrown around, not knowing what was going on. Reading about extraterrestrial is one thing, facing them is another.'' ---- Those two months were probably the two best months of my life, but we all know how long good things last for people like me. Like a match, the flame was put out with a single breath. "...And so then, he picked the guy up, ripped out his still beating heart, and stabbed it-into his '''''chest." Just like last time, we were camping out. This time, instead of the woods, it was inside an abandoned navy ship. The 0.4 who found it and opened it up agreed to let us sleep in the spare room for a week if we showed them the way to...well, it's not that important anymore. Kyle's face was a mixture of amusement and disgust, as Eric finished his story. "...The end?" "Yep. Or at least, that's what they say." Eric concluded, looking up from the lower bunk of the bed I was sharing with him and Heidi. "Well, that was definitely something you'd find in a horror movie." Lilly rolled her eyes, reaching for the candle on the table. "Now let's all try to get some sleep. We're getting up at six in the mornin' tomorrow." I laid back in my rather uncomfortable bed, glancing up at the bunk above mine. "We can't sleep in tomorrow?" "No! Tomorrow's Hump Day!" My blonde friend's face dimmed as the candle was blown out. In an instant, I was greeted by obscurity, which came over me like a black drape. My eyes closed, and as a feeling of tranquil overtook me, I drifted off to sleep again. Little did I know I was experiencing the calm before the storm. ---- "Why won't you believe me?!" Blinking, my eyes quickly adjust to my new location. I'm in a laboratory, and it's all gray and white. From the tables, to the shelves, even the equipment has no sign of color. "You know why!" I can hear someone arguing, and as they come inside the room, I see the owner of this poorly colored work room. She looks to be my age, with long blonde hair, and clothes with the exact same taste as her work space. "Because he isn't real! Even if he was, he'd have been invisible! You wouldn't have been able to talk to him, much less see him!" '' ''Someone else follows her in, someone I seem to vaguely recognize. "He was different! I could see it in his eyes, he didn't recognize my filaments! It was almost like he was sent to me for a reason!" "Well, try telling the police that! They're not gonna believe some Strakerite kid who stole from a museum for her own purposes!" The blonde girl retorts, whirling around at her friend. "There were security cameras set up all around the place! They're proof for sure!" The other girl walks toward me, and chills go up my neck. I know this person! But from where? "You're forgetting everything you've been taught! If he was like his friends, he wouldn't have appeared on camera footage!" The blonde girl pulls out a touchpad, tapping rapidly until it lit up. "How about I start up Vindex? If you're telling the truth about having sent him out to find your imaginary friend, he'll have recognized the presence!" The second girl turns her back to me, and horror stops me in my tracks. MODEL: KIRA RACHELLE TOMPKINS 1.0 9356 was sealed on the back of her neck. '' ''Just like I feared. It was her. Hello, Nat. A man of silver and blue steps in, and I find myself backing away when I see him. It's Vindex. How may I be of your service? "Vindex, search your database for...what was his name again?" Kira's friend hesitates. Kira rolls her eyes. "His name was Trevor." "Of course. Search your database for Trevor. Couldn't have asked for his last name, could you..." Nat mutters, returning her attention to her machine. Vindex beeps for a second, before replying. I'm sorry Nat, but my database has been interrupted. Another sign of life has been identified. "Another sign? That can't be right. This place is supposed to be protected from 0.4." Kira scratches her head. "Unless...Vindex, identify this sign of life." "No, no, Vindex, don't do that. Your servos must be acting up again." Nat puts her tablet down, heading over to the robot. My servos are behaving fine, Nat. Vindex responds in an almost rude manner. This sign of life has been identified. I should be able to tell what is going to happen next. But I don't. Vindex pulls up a hologram of my terrified face, back on that day I first met Kira. "Hey, that looks like that Tyrone Van-Padilla guy." Nat frowns, staring at the hologram. Kira's eyes are bowling balls. "He's here! He's somewhere in here, and he's probably been watching us for hours!" She paces the room, waving her hands around. "Trevor, can you hear me?! It's me, it's me Kira!" "Kira, shut up, you'll wake my parents!" Nat squeezes her friend's wrist urgently. "If he's really here, then why can't we see him?!" Kira shakes her head. "Vindex, see if you can pull up a heat scan of this room. Heat scans always work." Scanning... Vindex obeys. Heat scan complete. Vindex pulls up another hologram, this one of an entirely blue room, with the exception of three yellow-orange figures. Enough proof to be able to tell someone else was present. "Yes! This is perfect!" Kira squeals eagerly. Suddenly, Nat breaks into a grin. "It is. It's just what we need." Kira is taken aback. "Wait, what?" "Sorry Kira's friend." Nat takes a picture of the heat scan. "But you might wanna say goodbye to your own." And with that, the blonde rushed away. Oh no. Vindex takes the words straight from my mouth. Category:Stories Category:H.4 Parts Category:The Upgrade Parts